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WHILE YOU WERE WORKING: ACA enrollment hits 3 million … The Dow took a major spill … Police announced the death of a former top Hill aide recently charged of possessing child porn … Snowden’s legal adviser hinted at circumstances under which the NSA leaker might return to the U.S. … Pro Report starts now.

TOP TALKER: OBAMA SHOWS DEMS THE LOVE. POLITICO’s Edward-Isaac Dovere: “Democratic campaign operatives have been getting worried that the White House wasn’t doing enough to help them in the midterms, and that President Barack Obama didn’t care enough to change that. On Friday, Obama will provide the answer: David Simas, a longtime aide who returned to the White House after running polling and focus groups for the reelection campaign, is being named director of a new Office of Political Strategy and Outreach, according to a White House aide familiar with the decision.

“The re-establishment of an internal political operation marks a significant shift for the White House, and the latest step in a 2014 West Wing reorientation that’s aimed at quickly making up for years of lost time, both on Capitol Hill and around the country. … Obama … knows what’s at stake: Democrats losing the Senate would mean a daily barrage of misery for him and the effective death of his agenda.” http://politi.co/1jKZzCy

SOTU SURVEY: What would you like to know from Pro Report in advance of Obama’s address Tuesday? Best viewing bars in town? Best policy de-briefings? What he’ll likely say? Send requests here: rbade@politico.com. Or tweet me @RachaelMBade.

DRIVING NEXT WEEK: OBAMA TO FINESSE WORDING IN SOTU. Obama gives his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, and inequality is expected to be the emphasis of his speech — sort of. AP’s Jim Kuhnhenn explains the tricky word game he’ll play: “Eager to dispel claims that President Barack Obama is engaging in ‘class warfare’ as he heads into his State of the Union address next week, the White House is de-emphasizing phrases focusing on economic disparity and turning instead to messages about creating paths of opportunity for the poor and middle class.”

“The adjustment reflects an awareness that Obama's earlier language put him at risk of being perceived as divisive and exposed him to criticism that his rhetoric was exploiting the gap between haves and have-nots. On Dec. 4, Obama delivered a sweeping economic address [that] … used the word 'inequality' 26 times in his speech that day. A month later, the word has all but disappeared at the White House. In his most recent remarks about his economic agenda, the president made no mention of chasms between rich and poor. Rather, he stressed policies that help move low-income people into the middle class.” http://apne.ws/1eknJiw

FRIDAY HEADLINE TOPPERS:

3 MILLION DOWN; 4 MILLION TO GO. The Obama administration on Friday said 3 million have now enrolled in Obamacare. The original goal — before the whole website-failure saga — was to have 7 million locked in by the time 2014 enrollment ends March 31. You do the math. They’ve got a ways to go.

Jason Millman on Pro Health says “officials are counting on another significant surge by the end of March. ‘As our outreach efforts kick into even higher gear, we anticipate these numbers will continue to grow, particularly as we reach even more uninsured young adults, so that they know that new options and new ways to help eligible individuals pay for their premium are now available,’ Marilyn Tavenner, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator, wrote in a blog post Friday.” http://politico.pro/1jKoYMS

POP QUIZ: What percent of December enrollees were “young invincibles,” between 18 and 34? Answer after Around the Web.

DOW HEADS FOR WORST WEEK SINCE 2012. Matt Jarzemsky for The Wall Street Journal in New York: “U.S. stocks tumbled, looking to cap the biggest weekly decline in over a year for the Dow Industrials, as a two-day selloff in global equity and currency markets prompted investors to flee risky assets. …

“The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 251 points, or 1.6 percent, to 15,942, falling below 16,000 intraday for the first time since Dec. 18 and headed for its biggest weekly drop since May 2012. On Thursday, the Dow slumped 176 points.” http://on.wsj.com/1hTjnmK

LOSKARN FOUND DEAD. In a tragic ending to a very tragic saga, Jesse Ryan Loskarn, the former top aide to Sen. Lamar Alexander who was accused of possessing and distributing child porn, was found dead Thursday afternoon, John Bresnahan and Manu Raju report. The former well-known Hill staffer is thought to have committed suicide.

From local police: “Family members reported finding 35-year-old Jesse Ryan Loskarn unresponsive in his basement where he’d been residing with family since this past December. The preliminary investigation indicates that Loskarn may have taken his own life, and his body has since been transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for Autopsy. The investigation continues.”

From the story: “Federal prosecutors had argued against Loskarn’s release and said that he made statements around the time of his arrest that suggested he could be a potential suicide risk. But Loskarn’s lawyer, Pamela Satterfield, countered that it was ‘not a concern’ and pointed out that Loskarn had no prior criminal record and had ‘deep ties’ to the Washington community.” http://politi.co/1e1EAKp

SNOWDEN’S RETURN? Not so fast... Josh Gerstein for POLITICO: “A legal adviser to NSA leaker Edward Snowden indicated Friday that Snowden would only enter into a plea bargain with federal prosecutors if the terms were nailed down before he returned to the U.S. 'I can tell you now he is not going to return to the country and take his chances on what the details of a plea bargain might be or what might await him at a trial,' American Civil Liberties Union attorney Ben Wizner said in an interview on MSNBC.”

Flashback: “In an interview on Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder said prosecutors would be open to plea talks with Snowden. However, in a subsequent speaking engagement, Holder suggested that Snowden might have to return before the Justice Department would entertain a plea.” http://politi.co/19SAIvQ

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ONE FOR THE GRANITE; ZIP FOR THE MAGNOLIA. The best part about Friday is — duh — POLITICO Magazine’s The Friday Cover. This week Margy Slattery, associate magazine editor, writes on “The States of Our Union,” ranking all 50 states by averaging ratings from reputable sources like the Census Bureau, the CDC and the FBI, and on important factors such as high school graduation rates, per capita income, life expectancy and crime rate.

DOWN THE PIPELINE. More pot coverage — just what you wanted! Here’s a sneak peek at a story for Monday’s paper, by your tax-obsessed Pro Report-er and Byron Tau, our Influence guy: “‘Dude, where’s my tax deduction?’ That’s the question the burgeoning marijuana industry has for the federal government. Tax law bars the businesses from deducting expenses related to the distribution of their product — even if they’re operating legally under state law. …The result is a tax rate as high as 80 percent, according to the industry, for those in the 20 states with legal medical marijuana and the two states with recreational pot.” Buzzkill!

SPEAKING OF SMOKING — Don’t miss this, by Anna Palmer and Manu Raju: “E-cigarettes are so popular that even longtime smoker John Boehner’s been seen on occasion puffing one — and Big Tobacco wants to keep it that way. Big players in the tobacco world are betting the new electronic devices will surpass regular cigarette sales in the next 10 years, a multibillion-dollar boon for an industry that’s seen its profits tank over the past 50 years.

“But the Food and Drug Administration is set to decide soon whether the e-cigarette market should remain the Wild West, unfettered by strict advertising and other rules that apply to normal cigarettes. The looming FDA decision and increased attention on Capitol Hill and state capitals have set off a lobbying frenzy in Washington and across the country.” http://politi.co/1d18xG1

COOKIN’ ON PRO —

LAWMAKERS AIM TO WRAP UP FARM CONFERENCE. Fiftieth time’s the charm? David Rogers reports: “House farm bill conferees are being alerted to a likely meeting Monday morning at which the Agriculture Committee leadership is hoping to finalize agreement on a conference report that can come to the floor next week. ‘Conversations are ongoing and we remain optimistic that we can reach agreement in time to be on the floor next week,’ reads a Republican staff memo sent out Friday and picked up by committee Democrats to alert their own staff and member offices.” http://politi.co/1cbW0DZ

SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK. Jan. 26 through Feb. 1 is National School Choice week, when organizers will host thousands of education events to support the belief “that parents should be empowered to choose the best educational environments for their children, ... from traditional public schools to public charter schools, magnet schools, private schools, online learning and homeschooling.”

AND REPUBLICANS WILL REVEL IN THE CAUSE. The GOP, the longtime champions of voucher programs, will revel in advocates’ calls for more vouchers to pay for private schooling, charter schools and tax credits. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will use the week to unveil school choice legislation they say will combat income equality — a deliberate link to Obama’s proclaimed 2014 “inequality” battle cry.

Then there’s this, via Caitlin Emma on our Pro Education team: “The National Coalition for Public Education and the National School Boards Association are issuing pointed warnings that school choice doesn’t always give all parents choices. Private schools that accept tax-funded vouchers can typically set their own admission standards. They can reject students who are gay or disabled or who decline to sign a statement of faith. …” Emma says there will be plenty of bipartisan celebration, too. Read on: http://politico.pro/1iupDUL

SECURITY CLEARANCE FACES NEW SCRUTINY. In a town where security clearances are like belly buttons — everyone’s got one! — how will lawmakers stop another Edward Snowden? Here’s Leigh Munsil: “Now, infamous former Booz Allen Hamilton contractor at the National Security Agency, Congress, the government and contractors themselves are seeking the best ways to trim the ballooning national security structure, which hands out millions of clearances to contractors and government employees alike. … A 120-day White House review of security clearances and access to sensitive information has been launched in the wake of the Snowden leaks, and the initial findings of the Office of Management and Budget are due to the president at the end of February, an OMB official said.” http://politico.pro/KRJAWE

ON TAP NEXT WEEK: Beyond the SOTU. The Senate returns Monday at 2 p.m. to pick up working on S.1926, a bill to delay part of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 and to reform the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers. The House Rule Committee on Monday will prep legislation to block federal funding from covering abortion, which heads to the floor later in the week.

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